Oct. 16 – German pharmaceuticals and technology company Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) slightly improved its mid-term guidance for its healthcare business ahead of its capital markets day on Thursday.
Merck KGaA now expects mid-term annual organic sales growth in the low- to mid-single-digit percentage range for its healthcare business. Last year, it had guided for “slight growth.” For its life science segment, the company projects mid- to high single-digit percentage growth, up from last year’s 7% to 9% forecast.
For the group overall, Merck KGaA is targeting mid-term annual organic sales growth in the mid single-digit percentage range.
Pandemic assumptions revised
Merck KGaA confirmed it aims to achieve net sales between roughly 20.5 billion euros and 21.7 billion euros in 2025. The target has been reduced twice this year and remains well below the 25 billion euros previously forecast at the company’s 2021 capital markets day.
“We had made a number of assumptions on the pandemic that never materialized,” Merck KGaA Chief Executive Belen Garijo said in an interview. Garijo is set to step down at the end of April.
Plans for acquisitions
Garijo said the company maintains an “appetite for M&A with the priority on life science.” She noted that Merck is exploring a wide range of life science companies, both private and public.
MerckKGaA has already announced multiple acquisitions this year. In July, it agreed to acquire U.S. biotech firm SpringWorks in a $3.9 billion deal. On Wednesday, it also announced that its MilliporeSigma business would acquire the chromatography unit of JSR Life Sciences.
U.S. distribution and collaboration
Merck has identified potential collaborations with the U.S. government in response to tariffs, Garijo said. She cited fertility treatments as an area of common interest and confirmed that the company is likely to consider direct distribution to U.S. patients.
Merck’s revised guidance reflects both adjustments in pandemic-related expectations and a strategic focus on growth through life science acquisitions. The company is preparing updates for investors at its upcoming capital markets day.
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